Dysfunctional
by tirips
Summary: Ty Lee could comprehend that dysfunctional was to be expected when in the presence of her best friend, Azula. She had to learn to deal with this if she wanted her in her life. It was a good thing Ty Lee had the secret ability to distinguish between dysfunctions. And this one wasn't even a dysfunction at all. [inspired by the #TyzulaTuesday prompt of "dysfunctional"]


**Dysfunctional**

It was never her intention to have such an awkward talk with her mother. Not right now.

"Oh, Azula! It's your period. You got your period! You're growing up!" Ursa began to tear up and held Azula's cheeks in her hands. Azula furrowed her eyebrows, pouted her lips, and directed her gaze to the side of her mother's face.

Her mother stood up and began rattling off details about womanhood and a woman's body as she goes through puberty. All this gory, uncomfortable filth (truth) that Azula did not want to hear. Let alone right now. The doors to the front entryway of the palace swung open at that moment. Ty Lee came prancing in and towards Azula and Ursa.

"Damn it, Ty Lee!" Azula yelped.

"Azula! Excuse you?" Ursa looked down at her daughter with appalled eyes, but just as she was about to continue to reprimand her daughter, Ty Lee arrived with arms reaching out, pulling Azula into a quick, tight hug. Ursa dropped the subject.

"Ty Lee! Azula, how exciting it is to be sharing such a precious time in your life with your friend, Ty Lee!" Ursa began to tear up again.

"Mother!" Azula shrieked as her cheeks grew pink.

"What time?" Ty Lee chirped.

"Ty Lee, Azula got her first period. I suspect your mother has talked to you about this step in becoming a woman." Ursa smiled and then looked at her daughter. "Azula, this is normal, honey. It's okay. We're here for you! I'll go get you something to help." Azula's eyes widened. She took one look at Ty Lee, one look at her mother, and turned and bolted towards the palace doors. She ran outside into the courtyard and dropped to her knees at the edge of the pond.

/

The functionality was never really there.

Ty Lee was twelve years old now, and she could comprehend that dysfunctional was to be expected when in the presence of her best friend, Azula. Or anyone in Azula's royal family, for that matter. Azula definitely deviated from the social norm. She was, after all, a princess. Which was a big part of the dysfunction. Add in to the mix a power-hungry, pressuring father and a loving mother who was trying her best but who was not fully there. Add in an older brother who was sometimes like an alien to her. Add in the consuming desire for the same power she came from, to feel something of importance and substance and extravagance, to be in control always, in Azula herself. Dysfunction at its finest.

It wasn't always healthy. It was usually not positive. But Ty Lee had to learn to deal with the dysfunction if she wanted her best friend in her life.

So when Azula suddenly ran inside the palace out of nowhere while the two were practicing front flips, Ty Lee knew she should have just accepted that and scolded herself for not expecting it in the first place.

After waiting for a couple minutes and there being no return of her dysfunctional friend, Ty Lee ran towards the doors to the entryway and entered the palace.  
What occurred next neither shocked nor embarrassed her. She had this talk not just once, but several times before. Her mom had been sure to ingrain the normalcy and naturalness of a period into Ty Lee's head. So she just smiled and nodded and listened to Ursa, and observed how this moment was more magical than Azula realized. Ty Lee noted Azula's humiliation; observed the pink in her cheeks and her widened, wandering eyes. It seemed like she just wanted to disappear. And then...

"Azula! Where are you going?!" Ursa called out after her daughter as she bolted out the doors. "Oh my goodness. I'm sorry, Ty Lee. I don't know what's gotten into her. It's a normal part of growing up for us girls!"

"I can try to talk to her!" Ty Lee cheerily exclaimed as she tilted her head. She nodded once to Ursa and turned to follow her friend to the courtyard.

As Ty Lee exited the palace and began to approach the pond where she saw Azula kneeling, she stopped and took a deep breath. She watched as Azula began burning grass near the muddy edge. She decided to continue walking at this moment.

"Azula. Are you okay?" Ty Lee stood next to Azula and looked down at her with concern.

"Does it look like I'm okay, Ty Lee?" Azula bit back.

"Is it you getting it? Or your mom talking to you about it?" Ty Lee inquired without a hint of sass back. Azula did not have an immediate answer to this. A couple moments passed.

"I guess it's both. It's everything. Mother already thinks I'm a monster half of the time. I already have all this stuff to figure out. There's all kinds of stuff...not right about me. And now look at me! I'm a disgusting, bloody monster." Azula turned her face down and away from Ty Lee's view. This was a rare moment of vulnerability,  
and Ty Lee did not take these moments for granted.

It was a good thing Ty Lee had the secret ability to distinguish between dysfunctions. It was a good thing Ty Lee knew this wasn't a dysfunction at all.

She let out an eruption of laughter, ignoring the increasingly evil look now directed to her when her friend looked back over at her. "Azula! That's probably the most...functional thing about you! You're fine. It happens to all of us girls eventually! I got mine too just a few months ago. My mom says it's nature." She reached a hand out to Azula. Azula slowly took it with her own as Ty Lee helped her to her feet. "And your mom told you the same. She loves you, Azula. Just trust her this time. And trust me." Ty Lee smiled.

Azula analyzed Ty Lee's face for what felt like an eternity. To Ty Lee, Azula's eyes were filled with several emotions, seemingly swirling within her golden irises and within her sharp mind. If she could've guessed, Ty Lee could sense a combination of lingering embarrassment, wonder, relief, and...was that a hint of gratitude? She was in total relief herself when she saw Azula give her a slight nod.

As suddenly as Azula had darted away twice earlier, she grabbed Ty Lee's hand in her own and pulled her back towards the entrance of the palace, running slightly ahead of her. Still hand-in-hand. Behind the door, unknowingly to the two girls, Ursa was ready for them. Makeshift cloth pad in hand.


End file.
